7.27.2012

Before they went off to fight in Afghanistan, the
guys of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines talked quietly about their deepest
fear. Not dying. Not losing a leg or an arm.

It was having their genitals ripped off, burned away or crushed in the fiery blast of an improvised explosive device.

This was no idle concern to young men bursting with testosterone. The
makeshift bombs known as IEDs are taking a frightening toll in
Afghanistan, the blasts shearing off arms and legs, ripping through soft
flesh, crushing organs and bone, and driving dirt, rocks and filth deep
into torn flesh -- often leaving the genitals shredded or missing. Some
guys said they'd rather be dead.

Mark Litynski, a 23-year-old rifleman with Lima Company, knew the
odds. He'd been married to Heather for almost a year, and children were
in the future they planned together.

I ought to freeze my sperm so we could still have kids if something happened, he thought.

The idea nagged at him. But in the rush of last-minute training
before they packed their sea bags and weapons and then took a few days
of boisterous leave, he kept putting it off. Where do you go to freeze
your sperm, anyway? Who would you even ask?

By the time they loaded on the buses at Camp Pendleton, it was too
late. Should have done it, Mark thought as they boarded the plane in
September 2010.

Weeks later, Mark was on a combat patrol in Sangin, southern
Afghanistan, walking behind an engineer sweeping for IEDs, marking their
path with yellow spraypaint. IED detectors aren't foolproof. There came
a bright flash and searing heat, then the upward blast ripped off both
of Mark's legs and most of his left arm, slashing into his remaining
arm, shattering his pelvis and driving a rock and other debris up into
his abdominal cavity.

Amid the bloody carnage, all the skin was ripped from his penis and his testicles were gone.

Days later, after trauma surgeons in Germany finished trimming and
suturing his stumps and temporarily closing his abdominal wounds, he
managed to say a few words to Heather on the phone.

"I'm so sorry," he croaked.

“I love you,'' she told him, blinking back tears. "We will pull through this together, as a team.''

'THEY WEREN'T PREPARED FOR THIS'

The decade of U.S. combat in Afghanistan has left Afghans and
Americans with a seemingly endless series of woes. But among the most
devastating are the blast wounds that have left more than 16,000 young
Americans severely wounded.

Several hundred have suffered genital injuries in addition to
amputations and burns, leaving them unable to father children and
struggling to engage in something resembling the sex they used to have,
often without the aid of what many view as the primary symbol of their
manhood.

"Who's going to want to be with me now?'' wondered Marine Staff Sgt.
Glen Silva, 39, after an IED blast shattered his leg, ripped open his
lower torso and severed most of his penis.

It was a legitimate concern. Silva's girlfriend stayed with him at
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., through
many of his 42 surgeries. But one day he was wheeled back to his room to
find she had gone, leaving a nine-word handwritten note: "I can't take
this any more. I'm outta here."

Silva, the Litynskis and others agreed to share the painful and
intimate details of their ordeals in order to spotlight what they feel
is a life-altering but often hidden wound, one that is frequently given
inadequate attention and care within the military health care system.
Those who cannot regain their sexual function or drive are given little
understanding or aid, they say. In Mark and Heather's case, it took the
intervention of The Huffington Post to get them an appointment with
Walter Reed's specialist in sexual dysfunction.

"They weren't prepared for this,'' Silva said of the Walter Reed staff.

Since 2005, more than 1,500 soldiers and Marines have been carried
off the battlefield with genital wounds. But since late 2009, when
President Barack Obama ordered a "surge'' of 30,000 combat troops into
Afghanistan and approved a new tactic of increased foot patrols, the
pace of genital injuries has accelerated.

In the year before the surge, 170 combat troops suffered genital
wounds, mostly from IED blasts. In 2010, according to Pentagon data,
that number leapt to 259. Last year, the Defense Department counted 299
cases of genital wounds that James Jezior, a urologist who does genital
repair surgery at Walter Reed, characterizes as "devastating.''

"I remember lying on my side, dust everywhere, and I looked down and
saw my arms were split open and squirting blood and I had just two
bloody stumps above my knees," said Marine 1st Lt. James Byler, 26, who
was blown up a few weeks before Mark Litynski. "My first coherent words
to my Marines were, 'Hey! check my nuts!'" His genitals were severely
damaged, but intact.

"It's the male instinct, the first thing you care about,'' Byler
said. "In past wars, guys didn't live if they got injured as badly as
me, but we've gotten so good at the medevac process now that guys who
are catastrophically wounded are surviving. Now you have all these
further complications -- like, you know, what's going to happen with my
genital wounds?''

Military surgeons and specialists acknowledge that they often don't
know the answer, because, until recently, they had little or no exposure
to such injuries.

'I AIN'T GOING TO NO SEX-CHANGE DOCTOR'

In past wars, most casualties were head and chest wounds caused by
shrapnel from mortars and artillery or from bullets. Walter Reed, the
nation's premier military hospital, attracts some of the best talent in
military medicine. But doctors there say their only relevant experience
with sexual dysfunction had long been with older prostate cancer
patients, who obviously have vastly different medical and psychological
needs than young men with severe battle injuries.

During the past decade, IED blasts have become the primary cause of
U.S. battle casualties, killing or wounding 34,360 American troops in
Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the most recent Pentagon data.
One reason for the increasing incidence is that modern body armor
protects the chest but leaves the lower torso exposed to the upward
blast of buried bombs, a vulnerability that insurgents have exploited.

Many victims end up at Walter Reed, where surgeons are able to repair
some damage to the penis. Jezior uses tissue he cuts from inside the
patient's cheek or lip to rebuild the urethra, which carries urine
through the penis from the bladder. Oral tissue is used because it is
hairless and used to being wet, Jezior explained, and is rolled into a
tube to replace the damaged urethra. He grafts skin from the patient's
thigh or groin to rebuild the outer layer of the penis.

But for guys like Staff Sgt. Silva whose penises have been partly or
totally destroyed, options are few. Expertise within the military on
penis replacement, or phalloplasty, is so limited that some Walter Reed
patients have been referred to civilian surgeons who specialize in
sex-change operations. It's an option not well received in the ranks.

"I ain't going to no sex-change doctor,'' Silva growled. Besides, he
had seen photos of the penises they had made with surgical flaps from
patients' forearms. "I could do better with Silly Putty," he snorted. Read More

7.26.2012

Personal therapy has its emphasis on developing new ways of
thinking, such as the ability to contain and “think about” thoughts and to
represent them in words and images. The introspective and solitary act of
considering one’s thoughts leads to more coherence between thinking and feeling
and curbs both compulsive and impulsive behavior.

Interpreting how one’s mind works
is the key to emotional health and that deconstructing the defenses leads to
the discovery of affects and belief systems that are the foundation of the
personality.

No one will really praise us for
looking inward, will they? It’s a self-directed course, to know thyself and
strive to adapt, bend, grow - like the wise oak tree.

Today, I am including an article on a
surprising new trend, women and pornography, as well as a new non-profit group
targeting the effects of porn addiction in youth.

7.25.2012

Short sale can equal foreclosure in credit damage

In a divorce, closing any joint credit
accounts is a good idea. But a short sale on a home typically damages
your credit as much as a foreclosure.

By Liz WestonMoney Talk

July 22, 2012

Dear Liz: I went through a divorce in the last year
after being separated for two years. During our separation, we closed
credit cards with high balances to make sure neither party would spend
more on credit. We also had to short sell our home. So, as a single
woman in her mid-30s, I have credit that's somewhat shot for now. How
many months should I expect the short sale to affect my credit scores?
And was closing the credit card accounts good or bad for my credit?Answer:
Closing credit accounts can't help your credit scores and may hurt
them. In a divorce, however, it's usually wise to close all joint
accounts. Otherwise, your credit rating is in the hands of your
ex-spouse, who could trash your scores by paying accounts late or maxing
out credit lines.
In any case, the short sale probably had a
much greater effect on your credit than the account closures. Short
sales typically damage your credit as much as a foreclosure, according
to the company that created the leading FICO credit score. Recovery
times are measured in years, not months. If your scores weren't that
high to begin with — say 680 in the 300-to-850 FICO scale — it would
take about three years for your numbers to return to their old levels.
If your scores were high, say 780, it would take about seven years to
restore them to their old peaks.

These recovery times assume you handle credit responsibly
from now on. That means having and lightly using a credit card or two,
making all payments on time and ensuring no account goes to collections.Delay collecting Social Security for bigger benefitDear Liz:
My spouse started collecting Social Security in 2002 at age 63. I am
59, and not working, so my future benefits are unlikely to increase
very much, even if I wait until age 70. If he dies before I do, will I
get same amount he would be collecting at that time? If I collect Social
Security at 62, would Social Security combine our records to calculate
my benefit? In other words, should I try to wait or just start
collecting at 62?Answer: Your presumption that your
benefit wouldn't increase much by waiting is incorrect. Even if you
aren't working now, your benefit amount will grow the longer you can
wait to apply. That's true whether you ultimately get benefits based on
your own work record or your husband's.
When you apply, the Social
Security Administration will compare your earned benefit with your
spousal benefit and give you the larger of the two. Your spousal benefit
starts at half of what your husband's benefit would have been at full
retirement age. That amount is reduced significantly if you apply for
benefits before your own full retirement age (which is 66 for you,
although it rises to 67 for anyone born after 1959).
Also, if you
apply for spousal benefits before your full retirement age, you wouldn't
have the option of switching to your own benefit later, even if your
benefit grows to a larger amount than what you're receiving based on
your husband's record.
When your husband dies, you can switch to
survivor's benefits, which equal what he was receiving. Since he started
benefits early, however, his checks have been permanently reduced to
reflect that early retirement. In other words, if he had waited longer
to retire, you would have been entitled to a larger survivor's benefit.
The Social Security system is designed to reward people for delaying retirement, which is why it often makes sense to do so.Property gift may not be worth itDear Liz:
My mother will be 88 in August. She owns her own condo, which is worth
about $95,000, and has $5,000 in life insurance. She is in good health
and lives comfortably on a monthly pension. She wants to put her condo
in the names of my brothers and myself. What is your advice?Answer:
This is probably a bad idea for a couple of reasons. You and your
siblings wouldn't get the "step up" in tax basis that would be available
if you inherited the property. In other words, you might owe capital
gains taxes when you sell that could have been avoided if you had
inherited the property rather than received it as a gift.
A potentially bigger issue: Medicaid
look-back rules. If your mom needs nursing home care, her eligibility
for the government program that pays for such care could be compromised
by such a transfer. Many elderly people transfer their homes to children
hoping to "hide" the asset from Medicaid, but all such transfers
typically do is delay the older person's eligibility for help.
Before
she does anything, take her to an elder-law attorney who can help her —
and you — plan sensibly for her future. You can get referrals from the
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys at http://www.naela.org.Questions may be sent to 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604 or by using the "Contact" form at asklizweston.com. Distributed by No More Red Inc.

7.23.2012

At least once a month, I receive a
phone call from someone (an adult son, parent, good friend) trying to find a
way to hospitalize their suffering loved one.

Two recent examples:

A 29-year old male calls seeking help
for his severely depressed father, age 65, who lives in another state. He has
received calls about his dad’s declining well-being from concerned neighbors; “He is not leaving the
house, and has begin to give away special belongings. Dad is talking about what a burden he is on others.”

A 37-year old woman calls about her
9-year old daughter. Over the weekend, her young daughter became so explosive
that she physically attacked mom. The child is being treated with mood medication moods sees a therapist. Mom believes that she has no choice but to admit her somewhere for closer evaluation.

General guidelines to know – please understand that state’s vary; I will
speak mostly to Californian’s as our laws are the most client-centered, in
other words, California allows adult individuals autonomy and decision making
powers.

·It is very difficult to commit someone to an
institution. Being depressed
is not sufficient. The person
must have behaved dangerously towards themselves or another, OR be stating that
they plan to hurt themselves or others in the very near future, i.e. “I am
going to take all of my pills tonight. I hope I die,” or, “I am going to his
office to shoot him.” These threats are specific and immediate in nature, not,
“I hope he dies someday” or “I will kill myself if she leaves me.”

Because of
confidentiality laws, it is virtually impossible to call your loved one’s
therapist and have a chat about your concerns. If possible, secure your loved
one’s authorization, in writing to speak to any therapist or doctor that is
working with your family member. You can always “speak” to the person, i.e, you
do the talking and share your concerns, but the clinician has no obligation to
communicate his position or even acknowledge the fact of his client.

·People don’t want to leave their home. Once this crisis in play, the sufferer is so
far-down the rabbit-hole he or she cannot think clearly. Paranoia (“I don’t
trust anyone”) is a symptom of depression as are feelings of worthlessness,
“Who cares anyway?”

·Create a paper trail. Begin to document. When any comments are
made that appear dangerous or injurious, notify the police. The more the
better. Police have the supreme power to admit a “crazy person.” Often times
this is the very best avenue, while heartbreaking and painful. Many families
find this act to be almost impossible as it feels like a betrayal, yet, it can
be life-saving. Memorialize the worsening pattern.

·Hospitalization is never the solution a loved
one hopes it will be. This is the
strongest point I’d like to make, as most family members will put all of their
eggs in this basket, believing that once
someone is hospitalized they begin a mental health recovery. In fact, hospitalization is simply one step along the
way. It is intended to be a short-term solution for someone in IMMINENT
DANGER to themselves or others.

·Once a person has been admitted to a
psychiatric facility, a “72-hour
hold” (or 5150) will provide immediate physical, psychological and emotional
attention. Any current meds will be reviewed and likely adjusted to be more effective.
An introduction to social and therapy services will occur and basic needs can
be addressed. Once the patient is determined to be safe, or when the 72 hour
mark lapses, patient is released, usually prematurely.

This is the
most critical time for a family to mobilize, formulate a plan and assemble resources
for the patient’s discharge. If the patient doesn’t have a strong treatment
plan in place, do everything in your power to keep the patient in the hospital
(this is the most likely point when I
will receive a phone call from a panicked family member.) Time is of the
essence. When the facility is ready to discharge patient, which is always premature and the most expedient for their benefit, resist their plan until you feel 100% confident that a long-term aftercare plan is in place.

·Current medication regimens matter. What psychotropic medications is your loved
currently prescribed? What others have been tried and failed to help? This is
helpful information when the authorities are trying to make a decision about
admitting or discharging. Obviously, if your loved one is not on any
medication, they appear untreated, and are not under a physician’s care. If
medications are prescribed by a physician, the case is made stronger by the
fact that the individual has made sound attempts to manage their moods, and
their efforts are coming up short.

·An invisible step ladder is in place. Beds are severely limited and only the
sickest of the sick are admitted to costly higher levels of care. One does not
jump from kindergarten to college, and so it is in the mental health system.

The least
level of care is tried first (weekly therapy is an example), then medication
under the care of a psychiatrist specializing in the related area (for children,
a Child Psychiatrist). Sidenote: my strong clinical bias here is that a General
Physician or an OB/GYN should not be the physician on board prescribing
medication. A Psychiatrist is best equipped expert to monitor medication
regimens of psychotropics.

Next,
multiple medication trials, then outpatient treatment, then day treatment,
finally, longer term care (maybe 30 days) then even longer term residential
treatment. Please note it is very rare that long term care is covered by insurance
for adults. It is cost-prohibitive for most folks but the residential
treatments that exist are by and large fantastic and life-saving.

·Outpatient Psychiatry is offered in most large cities through a
hospital and covered by most insurance. I highly recommend this viable option:
panel of physicians, usually made up of therapists and psychiatrists, oversee
each case. Clinical protocol usually consists of daily visits, utilizing
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Support Therapy and resource building. In the event
of mental decline, the overseeing clinicians are on-board to respond
effectively.

For Children:

·Stick to very Specific Behavior. My child: wets the bed, scratches her skin,
isn’t eating, screams 20 times a day for 30 minutes or longer, stole a purse
from Target last week, wrote on her bedroom walls with permanent marker, says “I
hate my life and want to die,” etc

·Avoid labels or drifting into emotional
language. “I know she’s depressed and anxious.
I can feel she is not the same person anymore,” “She has had a hard year,
or, “He is reacting to the divorce. He
is angry and I’m afraid he’ll run away and get hurt.” Be less anecdotal and
more factual. Stick to behaviors.

·Admitting a child to an institution is easier
when an IEP is in place, as
this often supports facts of special emotional, psychology, or mental needs as
well as behavioral difficulties. Bring this documentation when calling the
police or speaking to authorities about your concerns. If the child has a
diagnosis, share that information.

·Residential treatments in California are primarily county contracts,
managed by excellent clinicians and child care providers. Because of the cost
associated, many families opt out of California and into Utah or Arizona for
residential treatment. There are many reputable agencies that will work
collaboratively with a family, often times 6-12 months, to stabilize a child
and facilitate new ways of interacting within the family dynamic, making a
reunification successful and healthy for all involved.

7.22.2012

July 16, 2012 · When a child
expresses disappointment over not making the team, many parents will try
to comfort them by saying “you shouldn’t feel that way, you’ll make
it next time.” The better way to handle the situation says Melissa
Cook, a counselor and author of “The Power of Validation” is to
acknowledge the child’s feelings.

Cook says that validating or acknowledging the feelings
of a child may sound like a simple concept, but that it’s difficult to
put into practice. Cook says that when we tell a child that they
shouldn’t feel sad, disappointed or angry; we are unintentionally
telling them that there is something wrong with them because they feel
that way. Instead we should help the child talk about their
feelings.

Teaching children to trust their own feelings helps give them the strength to stand up against peer pressure.

Cook is a certified counselor, and her co-author, Karyn
Hall is a certified psychologist.

7.21.2012

It has been ages since I have been to a wedding. Last night, with many friends and co-workers, I sat in attendance, under huge California Oak trees on 10 wild acres, a place called Secret Gardens, as two very nice people became husband and wife.Just to prove how cool this couple is, their Sears
bridal registry requested a 17 pc. Super Sockets Rounded Bolt Remover
and a 3 pc. Locking Pliers Set (practical long-term planning!)

But, I really believe ceremonies are necessary to keep us civilized and knitted together.

The officiating Minister said something that felt true and meaningful: We have a deep belief in a committed and loving relationship. Any way you slice it, everyone wants romantic and intimate love.

Female bears mate with the biggest baddest bear that she can find so her cubs will survive. Birds choose the most colorful male...this is raw instinct at its best.

The cultures that we all love to read about, say, the Egyptians or Romans, were full of custom and ritual. It doesn't mean they were better than us - just that ritual and formal ceremony moves us forward and keeps the immediate network socially supportive; the modern day Neighborhood Watch, book club, Moms running group, or a 1950's weekly bowling night for Dads.

If you are lacking in social support, think creatively - what or who do you enjoy? Schedule it and follow through. Folks who have friends and community support live longer and healthier.

Thank you Mark and Lisa - we loved the hawk circling above, the hot July sunset, and the chilly breeze that came next. Best wishes for your new journey.

7.17.2012

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body

Members
of the Broadway cast of “Godspell” do their flexible best. From left:
Uzo Aduba (doing the wheel), George Salazar (extended-hand-to-big-toe
pose) and Nick Blaemire (headstand).

By WILLIAM J. BROAD

Published: January 5, 2012

On a cold Saturday in early 2009, Glenn Black, a yoga teacher of nearly
four decades, whose devoted clientele includes a number of celebrities
and prominent gurus, was giving a master class at Sankalpah Yoga in
Manhattan. Black is, in many ways, a classic yogi: he studied in Pune,
India, at the institute founded by the legendary B. K. S. Iyengar, and
spent years in solitude and meditation. He now lives in Rhinebeck, N.Y.,
and often teaches at the nearby Omega Institute,
a New Age emporium spread over nearly 200 acres of woods and gardens.
He is known for his rigor and his down-to-earth style. But this was not
why I sought him out: Black, I’d been told, was the person to speak with
if you wanted to know not about the virtues of yoga but rather about
the damage it could do. Many of his regular clients came to him for
bodywork or rehabilitation following yoga injuries. This was the
situation I found myself in. In my 30s, I had somehow managed to rupture
a disk in my lower back and found I could prevent bouts of pain with a
selection of yoga postures and abdominal exercises. Then, in 2007, while
doing the extended-side-angle pose, a posture hailed as a cure for many
diseases, my back gave way. With it went my belief, naïve in
retrospect, that yoga was a source only of healing and never harm.

At Sankalpah Yoga, the room was packed; roughly half the students were
said to be teachers themselves. Black walked around the room, joking and
talking. “Is this yoga?” he asked as we sweated through a pose that
seemed to demand superhuman endurance. “It is if you’re paying
attention.” His approach was almost free-form: he made us hold poses for
a long time but taught no inversions and few classical postures.
Throughout the class, he urged us to pay attention to the thresholds of
pain. “I make it as hard as possible,” he told the group. “It’s up to
you to make it easy on yourself.” He drove his point home with a
cautionary tale. In India, he recalled, a yogi came to study at
Iyengar’s school and threw himself into a spinal twist. Black said he
watched in disbelief as three of the man’s ribs gave way — pop, pop,
pop.

After class, I asked Black about his approach to teaching yoga — the
emphasis on holding only a few simple poses, the absence of common
inversions like headstands and shoulder stands. He gave me the kind of
answer you’d expect from any yoga teacher: that awareness is more
important than rushing through a series of postures just to say you’d
done them. But then he said something more radical. Black has come to
believe that “the vast majority of people” should give up yoga
altogether. It’s simply too likely to cause harm.

7.15.2012

Spending today, Sunday, July 15th, at the Sheraton Marina Hotel (at Harbor Drive) for the Yoga Journal Conference with the UCSD center for Mindfulness team. We are presenting info regarding the great things things happening within the Psychiatry Dept at UCSD.Come grab some freebies and look for me.

7.14.2012

Tips for keeping your kids safe this summer. Very, very safe.

By Lenore Skenazy, Friday, July 6, 1:54 PM

It’s summertime, which means it’s
time for parents to think about safety — only safety. That’s what all
the parenting magazines and Web sites will tell you, as will every TV
news report that begins, “It was a beautiful summer day until . . . ”As a result, you know how important it is for your children to
avoid all swimming pools, playgrounds, lakes, camps, parks, bugs, balls,
hoses, horses, exercise, soap bubbles, sunbeams, sand, sugar and, of
course, other children.

If you are still considering allowing your child to play
outdoors this summer, go right ahead, you risk junkie! But first, heed
these tips. Some were gleaned from reliable sources, others I might have
made up. It makes sense to take some precautions, but can you tell the
difference?

1. Limit children’s sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

2. Children should watch TV or text during peak sun hours.

3. Discourage children from moving rapidly when they see insects — movement encourages insects to bite.

The tragic timing of crack cocaine coinciding with the spread of HIV (addicts trading sex for crack)

Every 10 minutes, someone in the U.S. contracts HIV. Half are black.

President Bush is the first President - after years of congressional resistance to hearing the drums beat - to allocate serious money ($15 billion) to Africa and the Caribbean in the AIDS/HIV fight

Prison facilities still refusing to distribute condoms in prison because "sex is not permitted," hence, a breeding ground for those recidivists who return to their home community, spread the virus, then return to prison, and on and on.

Black churches resistance to acknowledging the HIV impact on their community members and an overall prevailing stigma of homosexuality.

Lack of current antiretroviral medicine available to uninsured, poor, and rural HIV persons (with the Southern US region taking the largest hit)

AIDS is the leading cause of death for African American women ages 25 to
34. African American men are 6 times more likely to become infected
than other men. And the rate of deaths from AIDS is 10 times higher for
black Americans than for whites.

"The silence that surrounds the
virus is a theme that permeates the film. And that’s not just about the
fact that people who have the virus are keeping silent, but it’s also
the silence of others unwilling to push the issue or to talk about it."

Former NAACP President, and Civil Rights leader, Julian Bond:

"I think for black Americans, who I’m sorry to say are among the most
homophobic among all Americans — partly because we are religious and our
religion teaches us that homosexuality is an abomination, and that it
is also something that you can get rid of if you want to; you can decide
not to be gay, and therefore why don’t you? — I think in our universe,
gay people were white people. And even though we surely knew black gay
people — every church has gay people in it, and these are people who are
known and well liked and even loved: maybe the choir master, maybe the
choir director — but somehow or another we compartmentalize who these
people are and put them aside and don’t think of them as part of the
population we’re talking about.
So I think we thought about AIDS as afflicting only white people, and
then only white gay people, and there were no black gay people."

***AND THE BAND PLAYED ON1993HBO Originals Film highlighting the narrative surrounding the discovery,rise and spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America.

***

FREE STD testing in Escondido

People ages 13 to 24 can get free testing for sexually transmitted diseases at 3 p.m. July 27.

Organizers
say testing is painless ---- a mouth swab with no blood drawn ---- and
that results, which are anonymous, will be ready in 20 minutes. And all
participants will get a free gift card.

This program is funded by
the Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health, and tests
will be given at the Escondido Education Compact, 2247 E. Valley
Parkway.

There will also be information available about where
people can find health services, HIV/AIDS transmission and pregnancy
prevention.

7.12.2012

I’ve Got the T-Shirt and the Trauma Response to Go With It

James Landrith discusses life as a male survivor and recounts his experience of rape at the hands of a woman.

As a vocal male survivor, when I’m not talking about sexual violence
in writing or before audiences, I’m reading about it in many contexts
and sources. A great deal of what I see on a daily basis is directed at
men with the assumption that we know nothing about sexual violence or
have no experiences that parallel those of female survivors.
Those making such arguments are often NOT sexual violence survivors
themselves. Encountering such memes can be quite painful when you are a
rape survivor yourself. The problem is not that female survivors receive
the majority of the attention when sexual violence is discussed. The
problem is that when sexual violence is discussed with regard to male
survivors, there is often resistance, condescension, and outright
mockery by people who quite often have not experienced such violence
themselves. For those who have lived through abuse at the hands of
women, that can be doubly wounding.
I’ve lived through sexual violence. I have my own story and my own
experiences. I have my own triggers and my own issues. I don’t need to
be educated. I don’t need to be taught what to do or not do. I don’t
need any proven statistical bias to legitimize my life or my
experiences. I lived it.

♦◊♦

Background
Approximately twenty years ago I met a friend at a club in
Jacksonville, North Carolina. He came with a female friend. During the
night, he disappeared leaving his friend by herself and without a ride.
As she was pregnant and without a ride, I agreed to take her home when I
left. She had not been out in a while and wanted to stay until the club
closed that night. While she was not drinking, she bought me a few
thank you drinks for agreeing to drive her home.read full article here